Swinging from the Hip

Of all the technical flaws that plague hurdlers, probably the most common (and arguably the most debilitating) is that of swinging the lead leg from the hip instead of leading with the knee. For a coach, it’s something you want to catch and correct very early in a hurdler’s career, because it is a very difficult habit to break once it becomes ingrained. This article will discuss the effects of swinging from the hip, the causes of it, and ways to correct it, in that order.

Effects

I always tell my hurdlers, “Your knee is your steering wheel.” In other words, leading with the knee keeps you moving in a straight line, keeps your momentum going forward, and prevents you from being too erect over the hurdle. Leading with the knee gives you that feeling of control, the feeling that you can make the subtle adjustments you’ll have to make in attacking each hurdle through the course of a race. When you swing from the hip, you have no such control. The lead leg can swing upward, or it can swing to the left or right. The swinging motion can cause the arms to swing across the body or to flair out, it can also cause the shoulders and hips to twist, and it can cause you to sail over the hurdle.

[am4show not_have=”g5;”]

[/am4show][am4guest]

[/am4guest][am4show have=”g5;”]

Swinging from the hip also has a negative effect on the other critical aspects of technique. For example, the force of the swinging motion causes the trail leg knee to point downward, and causes the trail leg to pause for a while before moving to the front. Also, the trail leg’s trajectory will be very low, wide, and flat. The knee will not be able to drive up under the armpit like it’s supposed to.

Swinging from the hip makes it impossible to lean properly as well. The force of the swing, except for very powerful hurdlers who have exceptional upper body and abdominal strength, will cause the torso to rock backward during take-off. And those hurdlers who are able to lean forward will lean from the upper back instead of from the waist and lower back.

Another effect of swinging from the hip is that it takes away space. With the foot leading the way, a hurdler has much less room in which to operate to clear the obstacle. For this reason, and for all of the other reasons stated above, a hurdler who swings from the hip is much more prone to hitting hurdles, losing speed, and losing momentum.

In short, for hurdlers who swing from the hip, hurdling is a struggle.

Causes

Most flaws in hurdling mechanics are rooted in flaws in sprinting mechanics, and this is certainly the case with swinging from the hip. That’s why it’s important for coaches to understand that when they’re teaching sprinting mechanics, they’re also teaching hurdling mechanics. And it’s important that they relay this message to their hurdlers as early as possible, preferably on day one. That way, major mechanical flaws can be corrected before they become ingrained habits.

The most common cause of swinging from the hip is back-kick in the sprinting stride. With back-kick, the knees point down and the heel kicks the butt (literally, in some cases). When the knee of the lead leg is pointing down during take-off, there’s no way the knee can lead the dive into the hurdle. Instead, the foot will fling to the front, causing the swinging action.

A similar but slightly different problem is that of running flat-footed or heel-toe. This running style causes the hurdler to have very heavy strides that can rapidly lead to shin splints and other lower-leg pains. Often, running flat-footed and running with a lot of back-kick go hand-in-hand. With the flat-footed runner, there is no knee drive in any of the strides, so of course there will be no knee drive into the hurdle.

Arguably, both of the above flaws – back-kick and running flat-footed – can be corrected if the athlete runs with the ankles dorsi-flexed (so that the toes are pointing up). With the ankles flexed, the athlete’s legs will cycle instead of stomping, he or she can run on the balls of the feet instead of flat-footed or on the heels, the knees will drive up instead of pointing down, and the upper body will be driving forward. Hence, the hurdler will be in perfect position to drive the knee at the crossbar.

So it could be argued that running with the ankles dorsi-flexed is the key to everything. Without it, nothing else works; with it, everything else can now fall into place so that leading with the knee becomes a natural extension of what you’re already doing between the hurdles.

Corrections

In most cases, swinging from the hip can only be corrected by breaking down and rebuilding running mechanics from the ground up. You’re not going to get hurdlers with back-kick in their stride or who run flat-footed to lead with the knee. Before even setting up a hurdle, you have to go back to the basics of sprint mechanics. The athlete has to be taught to keep the ankles flexed, to cycle each stride, to land on the ball of the foot with the foot landing under the hip, to keep the hips pushing forward, and to keep the arms moving in an up-and-down motion.

Mach drills are the solution. Start with A-marches. Once the athlete has mastered all of the above doing A-marches, move on to A-skips. Once he or she has mastered A-skips, move on to B-skips. Then on to full high-knee cycles. Then running, then sprinting. Not until the athlete is sprinting with proper mechanics is he or she ready to hurdle without swinging from the hip.

Even in taking all these steps, the hurdler may still swing from the hip when the hurdle is there, just because the habit is so deeply ingrained. On a subconscious level, they’ve come to understand that the presence of the hurdle means they should swing, or kick. You may even find that they revert back to their old sprinting mechanic flaws as soon as you put a hurdle up. Be ready for that, and point it out when you see it.

In re-introducing the hurdler to the hurdles, start with the barriers lowered and spaced closely together. Start with only two or three hurdles. Nothing full speed. Gradually increase the spacing (and therefore the speed) as the hurdler demonstrates mastery of mechanics at slower speeds. Add more hurdles, then, gradually, increase the height of the hurdles as well. Understand that, assuming the athlete will have meets to compete in while in the midst of learning, there will be a period of transition in which his or her body will feel confused. You’ll see elements of the old flaws and elements of the improved technique intermixed. To totally break the habit of swinging from the hip in races will take anywhere from a month to an entire season.

To the athlete, I would suggest doing a lot of visualizing and muscle memory drills when away from the track to help speed up the learning curve. Another thing I have found to help is to look at the crossbar while approaching each hurdle, and to concentrate on driving the knee at the crossbar. The eyes tend to provide a sense of direction when it comes to steering the knee. In that last step into the hurdle, get your eyes on the next crossbar, and keep that eye rhythm going throughout the race.

The most important thing when it comes to correcting any technical flaw is to be patient and to be persistent. Don’t get frustrated if progress doesn’t come immediately, as old habits are hard to break.

[/am4show]